Appliances of this description normally have a pair of jaws, with or without cutting edges, mounted to approach each other with an arcuate motion, as in a pair of pliers, or along a rectilinear path, as in a vise. Depending on whether the workpiece is to be severed or merely crimped or indented, the jaws are laterally offset from each other or aligned in a common plane of motion.
With substantially rectilinear displacement, e.g. in a tool of the type described in my copending application Ser. No. 647,641 filed Jan. 8, 1976, the workpiece can be gripped from all sides even in an early phase of the deforming operation. With conventional plier-type appliances, however, the jaws are separated at least initially by a gap on the side of the workpiece opposite their pivot. As pressure is applied, the gap progressively narrows but the exerted stress has a tendency to deflect the jaws in opposite directions from their plane or planes of rotation. Heavy wires, for example, can be cut only by rather massive jaws regardless of the available force.